Square Enix Cafe had everything going for it, except the ability to adapt
Opened in 2016, the space themed after the storied game development studio is giving up the ghost after nine years. On paper, the Square Enix Cafe had everything going for it. Just steps from JR Akihabara Station in the heart of Tokyo's lively
otaku
(geek or nerd) district, it regularly showcased various iconic Square Enix games (Final Fantasy VII, NieR and
And yet, the Square Enix Cafe lacked many hallmarks of what make the rash of similarly video game-themed cafes that have popped up across Japan so enduringly popular. Here, there are no barrel-shaped tables, swords on the walls or spectacular stained glass windows. The cold walls display changing decorations associated with the various games featured each month in the form of framed posters — but that's about it.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
SoraNews24
12-08-2025
- SoraNews24
New One Piece video game requires you to throw real punches to win
Luffy's latest adventure is a (sonic) blast from the past. Fans of One Piece will tell you that protagonist Luffy's greatest strengths are his indomitable optimism and charismatic draw that turns not just strangers, but even one-time adversaries into true-blue friends and allies of the Straw Hat Pirates. It's impossible to deny, however, that whether they eventually become friends or not, Luffy's hero's journey also often involves him punching people really, really hard, and it's this part that the new One Piece arcade game is going to focus on. 【#ONEPIECEDAY'25速報⑬】『ONE PIECE』のアーケードゲームプロジェクト始動🥊その名も『ONE PIECE ドーンストライク』大海賊時代没入型パンチングゲームで、ロケテスト版ではドフラミンゴとカイドウと対戦可能！ 👇生配信をみる👇 — ONE PIECE スタッフ【公式】/ Official (@Eiichiro_Staff) August 10, 2025 The official One Piece Twitter account has announced that One Piece Do-n Strike is currently in development. Don't bother looking for a joystick, though, because this is a game you play by throwing actual punches. So how does that work? Towards the front of the cabinet is a protrusion that pops up, shaped like a floor-mounted striking bag. After putting a coin in the machine, you slip on a boxing glove (righties and lefties are both accommodated), then, when prompted to by the on-screen text/graphics, you punch the target as hard as you can. The machine then measures how hard the impact was and converts that into a numerical value used to calculate how much damage you did to your on-screen opponent. The preview image shows space to list the results of three punches, suggesting you've got three strikes in which to topple your foe. Now, cultured gamers looking at these images are no doubt immediately thinking of Sonic Blast Man, a 1990 Japanese arcade release by developer Taito, now a subsidiary of Square Enix. Sonic Blast Man used a similar setup to One Piece Do-n Strike's , but with an American comic book-style hero punching out giant monsters, criminals, and asteroids, among other threats to humanity. ▼ Sonic Blast Man being played The history of punching games in Japanese arcades goes back even further, to Namco's Knock Down in 1981, but it, and its 1991 sequel Knock Down 90 , were a bit more like carnival games than video games, since they simply display a numeric score with no video monitor for graphics, characters, or story. ▼ Knock Down 90 (the Hajime no Ippo illustration has been added by the arcade operator, and wasn't an official part of the game's branding) Most recently, in spring of 2024 Genda GiGO Entertainment, the successor to Sega's arcade operation business, partnered with Japanese mixed martial arts promotion organization BreakingDown to produce BreakingDown Hard Puncher Arcade. The front section for the cabinet looks to be an exact match for One Piece Do-n Strike , but the newer game will have a vertically oriented monitor. As for One Piece Do-n Strike's title, don , elongated to do-n for extra emphasis here, is the Japanese onomatopoeia for a forceful impact (it's the same don that's part of the kabedon /wall pound romantic trope that appears in anime and manga). There's a bit of wordplay going on too, as the teaser image shows Donquixote Doflamingo as the player's opponent, and the game's announcement says he'll also be the available enemy in the game's upcoming arcade location test, the date for which has yet to be revealed. There's also no word as to when the game's final version will get a general release, but there are plans to live-stream the location test on YouTube here. Considering there's a permanent One Piece gym now open in Japan, maybe some of its bodybuilding members will show up at the test to test their strength. Source: Twitter/@Eiichiro_Staff via Anime News Network/Anita Tai Top image: Twitter/@Eiichiro_Staff Insert images: Twitter/@Eiichiro_Staff, Wikipedia/物売り ● Want to hear about SoraNews24's latest articles as soon as they're published? Follow us on Facebook and Twitter!
Asahi Shimbun
09-08-2025
- Asahi Shimbun
Machinery boss in Shiretoko secret savior of ReraPan film
Rolls of ReraPan 127 film are lined up at a sales event held in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward on June 7. (Takeo Kato) SHARI, Hokkaido--The town of Shari is forever associated with the Shiretoko Peninsula, designated as a World Natural Heritage site. But to a select few, it is cherished for another reason, too. It is the home of a type of camera film that went out of mainstream production three decades ago. Film buffs have 64-year-old Tsuyoshi Mohri to thank for that. Mohri's main business is agricultural machinery, but he also manufactures the film under the brand name of ReraPan. His company's flagship products are bulky farm equipment that sells for several million yen (tens of thousands of dollars) and up to tens of millions of yen. Each roll of ReraPan film is 46 millimeters wide and priced at under 2,000 yen. Known as 'vest pocket film' or '127,' the film was originally introduced by Eastman Kodak Co. in 1912. Although Kodak stopped producing 127 in 1995, the film has diehard fans in the United States, Europe and elsewhere. Aficionados rave about the image quality and being able to pop a roll in their pocket. Using a self-built contraption, Mohri can produce dozens of rolls a day but not a huge number. While the endeavor requires considerable time and effort for a modest return, Mohri says it is an important business. 4 YEARS IN THE MAKING Mohri's passion for photography stems from when he used to take pictures of his family. He became fascinated with vest pocket cameras in 2009 after he spotted a Primo-JR model in a used camera shop. He bought the camera even though film for it was already out of production in Japan. Imported film appeared impossible to find. But after he went online, Mohri found a manufacturer in Croatia that was still producing the film. He contacted the company and bought 100 rolls. Thinking he would only need 10 or 20 rolls, he offered the rest at an online auction. They sold out immediately. Messages of gratitude poured in, and he was flooded with requests to lay in a stock of more rolls. Mohri swiftly bought 500 more rolls. His worries whether he could sell them proved groundless as the stock ran out in no time. Mohri decided to make what had started as a hobby into a business to meet the expectations of photo film enthusiasts, and opened an online shop, Kawauso Shoten, in 2010. Then the Croatian manufacturer shut down its operation in 2012, citing mechanical issues. When a German maker followed suit, there were no companies left to produce 127 film. Alarmed that vest pocket cameras would be rendered useless without film, Mohri spent nearly a year pondering what he could do before deciding to take matters into his own hands. Mohri negotiated with an overseas film maker to cut the film stock to the width of 46 mm to fit the 127 format and deliver the material to his company. However, he ran into difficulties searching for a factory to make the spool on which the film is wound. It took two years to find one that could accommodate his request. 80% OF SALES OVERSEAS Mohri started selling black-and-white ReraPan film through his online shop in 2014 before adding color, slide and other types to the lineup. Because vest pocket cameras are still popular in the United States and Europe, overseas sales of ReraPan account for more than 80 percent of total sales. Johnny Yokoyama, an American living in Kanagawa Prefecture, is a classic camera collector. After he obtained a camera made in Britain in 1937, he was impressed to learn that he could buy 127 films from Kawauso Shoten. Yokoyama said that without Mohri, he wouldn't be able to take photos with such an old camera. He still doesn't understand why ReraPan is lesser known in Japan when the brand is so popular in the United States and Europe. 'It is almost like my mission to continue selling (ReraPan),' Mohri said. 'I want to keep offering the film at a reasonable price.'
Yomiuri Shimbun
26-07-2025
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Tottori: Detective Conan Mystery-solving Tour Starts in Prefcture; Participants Can Ride the Rails While Solving the Case
HOKUEI, Tottori — A 'Detective Conan' mystery-solving tour, featuring the popular manga and anime series, has kicked off and will run through January, putting the skills of participants to the test as they travel to locations across Tottori Prefecture. The organizer of the tour, a committee including entities such as the Tottori Prefectural government and West Japan Railway Co., hopes to draw people in with its railway lines and facilitate tourism in the prefecture. Gosho Aoyama, the creator of 'Detective Conan,' is a native of Hokuei in the prefecture. The tour's plot follows the heiress of the Misasa Onsen hot spring inn, who, facing opposition to her marriage, plots to fake her own kidnapping and is caught up in a real kidnapping instead. Participants of the tour collect clues and try to identify the culprit while visiting five locations in the prefecture including in the cities of Tottori, Kurayoshi and Yonago. On July 5, more than 200 tour participants got off at JR Yura station, also known as Conan Station, and were welcomed by town Mayor Toshiki Teshima and a mascot of Edogawa Conan, the main character of the series. The station was decorated with banners and visitors were given plastic folders featuring 'Detective Conan' characters. Participants can get three-day unlimited passes for local service JR trains in the prefecture, Wakasa Railway trains and some bus services. Original pin badges are also available. A 19-year-old college student from Kobe, who participated in the tour with her friend, said, 'It was a good opportunity to visit some places I don't usually visit,' and added, 'the mystery was so difficult.'
